Environmental and economic benefit of recycling model of packaging waste: a case study on aluminum

Abstract

In order to achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources, save energy and protect environment and ecosystem, it is important for a region or a nation to develop and implement a viable waste recycling model from both theoretical and practical point of view. Some packaging recycling models operated in developed countries are introduced in this article. Aluminium can recovery and recycling is emphasized. Cost effective, economic and environmental benefit of different models are compared and analyzed. The result shows that all recycling models have their characteristics due to the initial purpose of recovery and the situation of the implementing country. However, all the models contribute to the reduction of municipal solid waste disposal and resources conservation.     

The legacy of surface mining: Remediation,restoration, reclamation and rehabilitation

Surface mining is a global phenomenon. When dealing with the land disturbances caused by surface mining operations, the terms remediation, reclamation, restoration and rehabilitation (R4) are commonly used interchangeably or otherwise vaguely defined. Expectations associated with these terms may differ significantly from one stakeholder to another, however. Regulators, industry, environmental practitioners, local communities and the general public therefore stand to benefit from a precise terminology based on agreed-upon end-goals. The latter range from the avoidance of exposure to pollutants (remediation) to the full recovery of the original ecosystem (restoration). Although frequently claimed as the end-goal, restoration may often not be unachievable, because of altered hydrology, habitat fragmentation, contamination, climate change, prohibitive costs and other environmental and socio-economic boundary conditions. Mostly, the definitions of reclamation and rehabilitation may overlap in their definitions and approaches. Here we attempt the creation of a road-map that can clearly translate end-goals for each of the R4 terms. According to the definitions encountered and exposed here, reclamation, which aims to recover key ecosystem services and biogeochemical functions within a replacement ecosystem or rehabilitation, which implies a repurposing of the landscape, may be the best approaches to deal with surface mining legacies.     

冷凝膜油气回收技术在轻质油汽车装车中的应用

介绍了油气回收技术的基本原理,着重介绍了冷凝膜回收工艺技术的特点,及冷凝膜回收装置在中国石化青岛石油化工有限责任公司轻质油汽车装车的应用情况,分析了存在的问题及改进建议。     

Faith-based climate action in Christian congregations: mobilisation and spiritual resources

This article seeks to explain how and why church congregations mobilise on environmental issues and what – if anything – is distinctive about that mobilisation. Building on and adapting Resource Mobilisation Theory (RMT), we develop the idea of “spiritual resources” to help explain how a collection of spiritual identities, values, symbols and narratives can facilitate distinctive collective action on environmental issues. Our analysis draws on data derived from an in-depth case study of climate active groups in Scotland. It includes content analysis of websites, news stories as well as ethnographic observation of selected church and secular groups engaged in climate activity. We find church groups do enjoy a distinct set of resources – comprising tradition, rituals and symbols shaped by theology and doctrine – which are not wholly captured by other explanations of climate mobilisation. While these spiritual resources do not directly translate into specific environmental or climate action they can, especially when combined with other resources, lead to environmental activities distinctly motivated, and distinctly practised at the individual and community level.     

Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds

Although evidence-based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective alleviation of threats. These metrics (research need, research achievement, management need, management achievement, and percent threat reduction) can be aggregated to examine trends for an individual taxon or for threats across multiple taxa. We tested the utility of these metrics by applying them to Australian threatened birds, which appears to be the first time that progress in research and management of threats has been assessed for all threatened taxa in a faunal group at a continental scale. Some research has been conducted on nearly three-quarters of known threats to taxa, and there is a clear understanding of how to alleviate nearly half of the threats with the highest impact. Some management has been attempted on nearly half the threats. Management outcomes ranged from successful trials to complete mitigation of the threat, including for one-third of high-impact threats. Progress in both research and management tended to be greater for taxa that were monitored or occurred on oceanic islands. Predation by cats had the highest potential threat score. However, there has been some success reducing the impact of cat predation, so climate change (particularly drought), now poses the greatest threat to Australian threatened birds. Our results demonstrate the potential for the proposed metrics to encapsulate the major trends in research and management of both threats and threatened taxa and provide a basis for international comparisons of evidence-based conservation science.     

Technologies for pollutant removal and resource recovery from blackwater: a review

● Blackwater is the main source of organics and nutrients in domestic wastewater. ● Various treatment methods can be applied for resource recovery from blackwater. ● Blackwater treatment systems of high integration and efficiency are the future trend. ● More research is needed for the practical use of blackwater treatment systems. Blackwater (BW), consisting of feces, urine, flushing water and toilet paper, makes up an important portion of domestic wastewater. The improper disposal of BW may lead to environmental pollution and disease transmission, threatening the sustainable development of the world. Rich in nutrients and organic matter, BW could be treated for resource recovery and reuse through various approaches. Aimed at providing guidance for the future development of BW treatment and resource recovery, this paper presented a literature review of BWs produced in different countries and types of toilets, including their physiochemical characteristics, and current treatment and resource recovery strategies. The degradation and utilization of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) within BW are underlined. The performance of different systems was classified and summarized. Among all the treating systems, biological and ecological systems have been long and widely applied for BW treatment, showing their universality and operability in nutrients and energy recovery, but they are either slow or ineffective in removal of some refractory pollutants. Novel processes, especially advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), are becoming increasingly extensively studied in BW treatment because of their high efficiency, especially for the removal of micropollutants and pathogens. This review could serve as an instructive guidance for the design and optimization of BW treatment technologies, aiming to help in the fulfilment of sustainable human excreta management.     

Population dynamics in Daphnia Magna as modified by chronic tetradifon stress

Abstract

Two Daphnia magna offsprings (animals from the first and third brood) whose parentals (F₀‐generation) were exposed during 21 days to different tetradifon (4‐chlorophenyl 2,4,5‐trichlophenyl sulfone) concentrations, were transferred to a pesticide free medium during 21 days (recovery period). The algae Nannochloris oculata (5x10⁵ cells/mL) was used as food. In this recovery study, survival, growth and reproduction (mean total young per female, mean brood size, onset of reproduction and mean number broods per female) were assessed as individual parameters and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) as population parameter, for F₁ generation (1st and 3rd broods). Reproduction was still reduced in F₁ (1st and 3rd broods) generation daphnids from parentals (F₀) exposed to 0.18 mg/L tetradifon and higher concentrations even after 21 days in clean water. However, survival was not significantly different (p>0.05) in those F1 offsprings from parentals pre‐exposed to the acaricide. Growth was still reduced in F1 daphnids from parentals pre‐exposed to 0.10–0.44 mg/L tetradifon. The intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) was still affected in Fl generation daphnids, specially in those from the third brood. Therefore, Fl generation D. magna offsprings from a parental generation (F0) previously exposed to the acaricide tetradifon were not able to recuperate completely when a recovery period of 21 days was allowed.     

Comparison of two sample preparation methods for analysis of organochlorine pesticides residues in fish muscle

The aim of this study was to compare recoveries of organochlorine pesticides (heptachlor, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, op′-DDD, pp′-DDD, pp′-DDE, op′-DDT, pp′-DDT) from fish muscle dried by two alternative methods: (i) grinding with anhydrous sodium sulphate and (ii) freeze drying. Pesticide residues content was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS) method. For four pesticides (γ-HCH, α-HCH, heptachlor and pp;-DDD) in four of five fish species, higher recoveries were obtained from the freeze-dried samples. For five remaining pesticides, correlations between fish species and drying method were not found. The results of this study do not clearly indicate which drying method caused lower losses of analytes. Recoveries from the freeze-dried samples ranged from 69.9 to 117.6 %, while recoveries from the samples ground with sodium sulphate varied from 64.4 to 126.7 %. Either of the methods gave satisfactory recoveries and they both can be used interchangeably.     

电渗析法处理低浓度乙酸废液的研究

用电渗析法处理配制的乙酸质量分类为２．５％左右的乙酸水溶液，浓缩液乙酸质量分数达到２０％，稀相出水乙酸质量分数至０．０２％；对影响处理过程的因素进行了探讨。     

The continued operation of businesses after an earthquake: a case study from Lushan County,China

This study performed a comparative analysis of changes in the operating status of initial surviving disaster‐stricken businesses and non‐disaster‐stricken businesses in Lushan County, China, after a devastating earthquake on 20 April 2013. It used a logistic regression model to explore the key factors associated with ‘post‐disaster continued business operation’ in the long term. Field data were collected from 1,078 businesses and questionnaire data from 263 small businesses between 2013 and 2017. The results indicate that a higher proportion of initial surviving disaster‐stricken businesses than non‐disaster‐stricken businesses managed to remain operational in each observation period. The continued operation of disaster‐stricken businesses after the earthquake was positively associated with the owner's age, previous disaster experience, pre‐disaster financial conditions, closure duration, and borrowing money from family or friends. A negative association was found with the size of the business. The findings serve as a vital reference for strategies to promote post‐disaster continued business operation.